Tuesday, December 13, 2011

And Now For Something Completely Different

Anyone reading this blog (both of you) is already well acquainted with a fact that has relatively little to do with my writing, but it's sometimes worth noting here anyway.

I'm a transgendered woman, as in someone who was "assigned male at birth" based on only one superficial sex characteristic. There are, in fact, many factors that go into determining a person's gender identity, and in the fullness of time, the weight of all those factors brought me squarely into the female camp.

I could say more about that, how it has impacted my writing, where it shows up as a hidden thematic element, what have you, but I have far more important things to do today.

I'm dead serious. Read her page. She has arrogated to herself the title of World Champion, espousing body positivity, and representing all the Heavyweight radical queers of the LGBT community. All of us.

And she's done a few pushups to back up this claim.

THIS WILL NOT STAND

It's not that I disagree with her aims, or her methods. I am perfectly aligned with her goals, in fact. Rather, it is that, as I advance further along the gradual timeline of exercises built into the Convict Conditioning system, as I continue gaining body knowledge and self respect, as I embrace the truth of myself and break free of shame, I am perfectly convinced that this woman, this Black Dahlia Parton, is a mere half nelson away from handing her champion belt over to ME.

That's right, me, Cheyenne "Fannie Oakley" Cartwright.

So this is your challenge, Black Dahlia! Down here in the Lone Star, we grow our queer girls up right and strong. I don't give a hoot that you're all the way up in Canada, and I'm down here. You said it yourself, you mean for these events to be all over the world.

Now, I appreciate you already got your first challenger. I've been reading you close since I first saw your challenge to Dan Savage. That's alright. I know that what will emerge from that epic bout is a stronger, more positive community, more integrated.

And to be fair, it ain't even the belt I'm after. We need the same dang thing down here, is all.